It is often desirable to prevent flow through a hydrant or faucet (hereinafter “hydrant”). More specifically, often thieves will steal water by accessing an outdoor hydrant. Vandals will also turn on a hydrant to create havoc. In one example, pranksters turn on the water of a residence during a cold period where the water will flood the associated yard and freeze. Turning on a hydrant that is interconnected to a hose may also create a situation where ice forms within the hose and hydrant and eventually bursts a water inlet pipe associated with the hydrant.
The afore-mentioned water theft and vandalism has been addressed thus far by providing a lock that is associated with the hydrant outlet. More specifically, as most hydrants include a threaded outlet that receives a hose, i.e. a hose bib, hydrant locks of the prior art interconnect to the outlet to prevent the flow of water from the hydrant. Common hose bib locks are comprised of an internally-threaded cylinder that interconnects to the hose bib threads, which effectively blocks the flow of fluid from the hydrant. The cylinder includes a protrusion having an aperture for receiving a lock that secures an associated cover about the cylinder. The protrusion may be rotatably interconnected to the cylinder such that rotation of the cover will not disconnect the cylinder from the hydrant. If the water is turned on, the cylinder will prevent water from being expelled from the hydrant, thereby rendering the attempt of water theft or vandalism useless. Attention is directed, for example, to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0158791 to Hudman, entitled “Tamper-Resistant Hose Bib Lock”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,437 to Royker, Jr., et al, entitled “Lockable Cover for Threaded Spout”, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0130544 to Nickeas et al., entitled “Security Device for a Threaded Element”, all which are incorporated by reference herein.
Unfortunately, in cold weather situations, merely blocking the flow of water from the hydrant will not circumvent the vandals. More specifically, some hydrants do not allow the drainage of water from the hydrant subsequent to closure or when a hose is interconnected thereto. In these situations, the bib lock of the prior art would allow the hydrant to fill with fluid that may subsequently freeze and possibly cause damage to the hydrant. In addition, even freezeless hydrants, some of which are listed below, allow for most of the water to drain from the system, but the remaining fluid may remain in the hydrant if prevented from escaping by the bib lock of the prior art.
Thus, it has been a long felt need to provide a system for securing a hydrant that prevents the actuation of components associated with the hydrants that allow fluid to flow therethrough as opposed to merely blocking the outlet of the hydrant. The following disclosure describes an improved hydrant locking mechanism that employs a novel combination of a lock and lock body that selectively is associated with a hydrant to substantially restrict an individual's ability to turn on the hydrant.